GET WORD OUT ON KILLER DRUG

Somewhere out there a young person is going to be offered a drug,
called Ecstasy, that is supposed to make her feel real good.

Taking it, though, could be the biggest mistake that kid will ever
make, and not just because taking Ecstasy or any other drug is wrong
for so many reasons. In this case, it could kill her.

What kids think is Ecstasy could be something else. It could be
something called PMA. If they take this drug, they could die.

Some young people who read this, or hear about this PMA warning, may
dismiss it as just another idle threat from alarmist adults who have
the ridiculous notion in their heads that every drug in the world is
going to bring death to anyone who takes it. They know better than
that.

Well, if that is their attitude, then they should know this. Three
young people in the Chicago area are dead from what police suspect is
the result of an overdose of PMA. In at least one case, a teen thought
the pill was Ecstasy, but it was PMA. The pills in question are marked
with three white diamonds similar to the Mitsubishi logo.

Youngsters have to know that accepting an offer to take Ecstasy is not
a just a stupid decision, but a potentially fatal one. If the fear of
death isn't enough to dissuade adolescents from experimenting with
this drug, then adults have to reinforce that message.

Lawmakers and law enforcement are calling for a crackdown on Ecstasy,
putting it on par with LSD and cocaine and coming down harder on
Ecstasy dealers. We agree. Certainly those who sell this drug need to
be dealt with severely. More arrests have to be made to get this
dangerous drug off the streets. There is a lot of it out there.

But there also has to be an all-out effort to get the word out that
there is a killer drug out there. Parents, teachers, coaches, cops,
counselors, ministers - anyone who has contact with young people -
must make it clear that they are not being alarmist when they say that
PMA, being passed for Ecstasy, is a deadly drug.

It would be even better if this message were reinforced nationally by
musicians and entertainers whom teens admire. Ecstasy and PMA are not
only a problem here, but across the country.

But one of the best ways to spread the warning about Ecstasy and PMA
is if young people were to do it themselves. They should accept that
it is smart to stay away from these drugs and pass that message along
the peer pipeline.